Copyright Statement

Abstract

The English Parish Rate for the relief of the poor was first instituted by statute in
1536. Scholars of English welfare have seen in this a great discontinuity with the
statute of 1531, and have suggested the 1536 Act was the product of humanist
thinking about the nature of poverty. Humanist features have long been attributed,
in particular, to a draft bill of 1535, seemingly bolstering this argument. The bill
was seen as ahead of its time, explaining the Actís apparent failure. This article
revises these interpretations of the 1530s legislation, seeking to align scholarly
understanding of the 1530s legislation with continental scholarship of welfare
reforms, scholarship of English humanism, and the growing body of research that
shows continuities in local practices and attitudes from the late medieval period
regarding poverty and the poor. It does this through a revision of the broader
legislative context, and through situating the 1535 draft in closer relationship to
the legislation passed and contemporary repair works underway at Dover harbour.